This disc, whilst certainly
entertaining (if somewhat eccentric)
should be used in conjunction with an
article in the International Piano
Quarterlyin which Ronald
Smith discussed aspects of roll technology
and interpretation. These were some
of the recordings he discussed in what
must have been his last published interview.
Seen in that light the programme might
not seem so arbitrary. We begin with
the two Haydn Flute clocks (mechanisms
fitted to clocks to play melodies at
the hours) made for Counts Esterházy
and Liechtenstein, which played movements
from Haydn. These were recorded onto
disc in 1931. The development of the
musical box is sketched with a couple
of examples before we move on to the
heart of the disc – the piano roll,
about which I think I’ve written far
too much already on this site for my
own well-being.

The famous Mahler 5
Welte roll is here – chaotic - and there
are two examples of d’Albert’s playing;
the first of Beethoven is a roll and
is a travesty rhythmically and tonally,
the second, a disc of Chopin, shows
the unambiguous superiority of the disc
as a medium if one discounts the nature
of the associated noise. His phrasing
is natural and pliant. Nothing mediates
between the player and the needle; in
a roll many things can and do.

We get Aeolian’s disc
records of roll playing – Grainger playing
Grieg and Mr J H Clapham playing Elgar
and also the 1930 Odeon releases of
historic rolls by such as Grieg, Carreño,
Leschetizky and Granados. Another section
of the disc is devoted to a miscellaneous
group of disc recordings; Grieg again
(an off centre and warped 1903 Au Printemps
– pity a better copy wasn’t found) and
a delightfully splashy Grainger plying
To Spring in 1927. Maybe the example
of a roll and piano recording, side
by side, of Hofmann playing the Turkish
March is pointed but it really does
demonstrate the limitations of the roll
system. Despite the obviously fine sound
that can be derived from a roll it is
– I can’t stress this too much – dead
as a performance. Lhevinne playing Chopin’s
Etude Op.10 No.11 similarly demonstrates
that what sounds natural and flowing
on disc sounds jerky and unacceptable
on roll.

These are some of the
areas covered on this "documentary
and supporting evidence" CD. Typographically
it’s a bit of a mess. Some of the recordings
are deliberately faded, but not too
many; not all are in the best of health.
Read the article with this CD otherwise
you may feel bewildered - though the
notes do point some of the way.

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